Thursday, November 3, 2016

This October, Clinique launched a first for the brand: an editorial platform called The Wink. The Wink will feature “the people, places, ideas and stories Clinique finds simply amazing – from across Canada and around the world,” and is designed to be just as playful and inclusive as a wink can be.

So, what better way to celebrate the platform’s launch than a mascara that’s perfect for winking?

When I first tried Clinique’s new dial-up mascara, I was a little confused. Even on its lashiest setting, the results (pictured here) are relatively natural-looking. They’re voluminous and clean, but not overwhelmingly so, and the formula seemed a little dry.

And then I waited to see how long it would take to smudge. Four hours went by, then six, then ten, and the next thing I knew, I had been wearing Clinique Lash Power Flutter-to-Full for a full 13 hours and it hadn’t moved at all. When I went to wash it off, I realized why: this custom-lash mascara is a tubing formula.

My perspective shifted immediately, because as anyone who loves tubing mascaras knows, they tend to be two things: 1) only lengthening, and 2) extremely wet. Flutter-to-Full defies both of those expectations, with a formula that’s dry enough to leave your curl perfectly intact and thick enough that it provides good volume. (Think of it as normal-mascara “moderate volume” and tubing mascara “insanely voluminous.”)

The verdict?

Clinique says their Lash Power Flutter-to-Full Mascara wears for 24 hours and removes easily, and I believe them 100%. At 13 hours, my lashes were still picture-perfect and fluttery, and it washed off with warm water and no rubbing. (As with any tubing mascara, just remember NOT to use an oil-based makeup remover!)

I’m not sure that I would personally re-buy this mascara at $28 CAD, but I did really, really like it. It’s the most volumizing and long-wearing tubing mascara that I’ve tried, and trust me: I’ve tried a lot.

Monday, January 11, 2016

2015 was, for some reason, a major skincare year for me. I didn’t fall in love with any new makeup products until December, and while I do love those with a passion–well, it makes for a favourites list that is much the same as 2014’s.

My favourite everyday products

For me, “the basics” begin with a black eyeliner that never smudges (I rely on Annabelle SmudgePaints and Marcelle Double Extension eyeliners for that — I think I’m on my third Marcelle pen) and an eyeshadow base that can keep you totally crease-free (the cheap-as-dirt Wet ‘n Wild Fergie primer or Pür Mineral’s awesome new Eye Polishes, both of which perform, for me, leaps and bounds better than Urban Decay Primer Potion or NARS Pro Prime.)

You’re only as good as the number of people who fear you, after all, and raccoon eyes don’t usually make for terrified weeping.

I also couldn’t live without my Revlon Lip Butter in Sugar Plum (the perfect medium-coverage MLBB shade), a few matte eyeshadows to contour with, and a basic lip balm.

Add in a ‘cone-free face powder (no one does a satin finish like Marcelle) and a flawless foundation (thank you again, Pür Minerals, you radiant, beautiful unicorn) and I’m all set.

My favourite colour products of 2015

I discovered a lot of absolutely stellar brow products last year, but only a few made the cut for my favourites: Stila’s, which is glorious but outrageously overpriced, and Annabelle’s, which is as wonderful as it is budget-friendly.

My favourite tools of 2015

My do-everything powder brush, Senna’s Powder Point Brush #33, is my only new favourite this year — but it lives at my partner’s house, so I’m afraid I couldn’t include it in this photo! I feel like that speaks for itself, though: it’s my only powder brush at his place, and it does a good job of applying foundation, powder, contour, blush, and highlighter. It doesn’t do an amazing job of any of them, but for that kind of versatility, I’ll live.

Monday, November 2, 2015

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INSTANT FIXES

They say that everything worth having is worth working for, but by the looks of 2015’s beauty trends, the industry is still trying its darndest to prove that particular old adage wrong.

This year has seen a lot of really cool “instant fix”-type products (like this one from Deciem), and the brightening Neutrogena Healthy Skin Instant Tone Corrector SPF 15 ($19.97 CAD) and vivid orange The Body Shop Vitamin C Instant Glow Enhancer ($20 CAD) are two more examples of this quick-fix trend–which, can I just say, I am loving.

NEW CLASSICS

The Clinique Dramatically Different and Neutrogena Pink Grapefruit ranges are two of the beauty world’s most popular ranges for people (especially teens!) with acne-prone skin. And this year, I am happy to say, BOTH ranges are getting a long-awaited update.

Clinique is adding a Dramatically Different Cream ($14.50 USD)for those with dry skin, and Neutrogena has created an Oil-Free Acne Moisturizer ($8.78 USD/$12.99 CAD) with 0.5% salicylic acid. Starting at under $15 each, they’re great picks for the teen or tween just getting into skincare — and just as good for those still struggling with acne in their college years.

Thursday, September 24, 2015

“If you could give your future-self any advice, what would it be?”

Right now, Clinique is challenging millenials to ask themselves a question: “If you could give your future-self any advice, what would it be?”

The #FaceForward campaign flips the usual conversation (“what advice would you give your past self?”) and encourages women to break boundaries, challenge themselves, and reach their goals. To #FaceForward toward the future, if you will ;)

I’ve been thinking a lot about this question recently, and I think that if I could only give my future self one piece of advice, it would be this:

Keep saying YES.

Keep saying yes is the mantra that I’ve been operating on since the summer (paired with my old standby, GO HARD), and it has inspired and encouraged me every single day since then. To me, it means be better than you are — not to be better than your peers, but to be better tomorrow than you are today. It means saying yes to new opportunities and challenges, no matter how scary, and operating in a way that would make your past self proud.

Together, “keep saying yes”and “go hard” are a way to conduct yourself that leaves you always striving: if, at any given point, your very best is the comparison point for not good enough, then there’s always something pushing you.

It was easy to keep saying yes while I was away, but it’s more difficult now that the summer is over. When you’re no longer surrounded by creatives and cityscapes and beauty left and right, staying on track is like trying to get your six glasses of water a day: hard, likely to make you pee a lot, and as gruelling as it is rewarding.

Here on the prairies, everything is so far, and the ground beneath my feet never feels quite like home. I find that I struggle to stay inspired, but I’ve been keeping my little #FaceForward on my desk to remind myself to look to the future and keep saying yes.

Thursday, September 17, 2015

The collection that I have, without a doubt, fallen the most in love with this fall is Clinique’s. Usually, when I’m testing makeup products, I really go at it for about a week and then let them fall by the wayside as the next big thing comes along. But with these Clinique launches…

I mean. I’ve had these mascaras since July, and I’m still wearing them almost every single day this September. In the words of ’90s Posh Spice, they are major.

The shades: The new Chubby Lash mascaras are currently available in a few different shades, depending on where you are. If you’re at Nordstrom, for instance, you can pick up Jumbo Jet (black), Massive Midnight (blue), and Two Ton Teal — but if you’re at a Sephora, you have at your disposal Jumbo Jet and Portly Plum (eggplant).

I’ve tried this mascara in black, blue, and eggplant, and I love them ALL — but Massive Midnight is by far my favourite. It’s a beautiful royal blue that shows up even on my black lashes, and it’s perfectly done: in some lighting conditions, my lashes just look black; in others, the blue is so evident that I can see it in the mirror from a meter away.

The formula: If the allure of perfectly-tinted lashes wasn’t enough, Clinique hit it out of the ballpark with the Chubby Lash formula and packaging, too. These feature a chubby silicone brush tipped all around with short, thin bristles, and they really deliver.

All three of these mascaras give me completely clump-free, voluminous lashes, and the formula holds a curl well. They wear for a good 10-12 hours (!!!) without dropping the curl, flaking, or smudging, and give me results that are extremely similar to the Charlotte Tilbury mascara ($29 USD) at a fraction of the price.

The verdict?

For once, I can’t think of a single way that I could improve these mascaras — and that’s saying something. They’re well-priced, come in a beautiful range of colours, and deliver a voluminous, clump-free lash that wears for 12 hours with zero smudging.

These are some of the best mascaras that I’ve ever tried, and I think it’ll be a good, long time before something replaces them as my favourite!

Monday, August 24, 2015

The beauty world has been coming out with some pretty cool new innovations this year, so for the newest instalment of The Edit, I’ve selected nine products that have something different about them. They’re mostly skincare (what? I’ve been on a skincare kick this month), but don’t let that fool you: there’s some really nifty stuff coming out of the makeup department, too!

click the links!

Beauty Essences

Beauty essences are far from new (they’ve been popular in Korea and the rest of Asia for years), but they’ve been tricky to get ahold of here in North America until just recently. I picked out two for this edit: a classic, the Cremorlab Mineral Treatment Essence ($42 USD), which is now easily accessible outside of Asia thanks to Peach and Lily (get a $10 off code here!); and a personal favourite, the Canadian-made MIYU Beauty Hydrate Mi Beauty Essence ($34 CAD), which touts all the benefits of a traditional beauty essence but applies conveniently as a spray.

Mask On, Mask Off

I also picked out two cool masks for this feature: one for oily skin, and one for dry. Clinique’s new Pore Refining Solutions Mask ($27 CAD) is one of three masks that the brand is putting out this fall, and targets problem skin with its charcoal-based formula — its muddy-charcoal texture looks super cool coming out of the tube.

On the total opposite end of the spectrum is Odacité’s Hydration Masque ($55 CAD; sample size pictured), which is bright white and is a great choice for dry skin. And, still working off of K-beauty trends, it makes an awesome sleeping mask for those inclined!

Make-Up Shake-Up

I love a newfangled makeup product, so I picked out the Shu Uemura Laque Supreme ($35 CAD) and the Annabelle EyeInk2 Mistake-Proof Eyeliner ($10.95 CAD) for this feature. I reviewed the Shu just last week, and have been playing around with the Annabelle — the formula hasn’t been working out for my oily lids, but I love the long, thin, reversible (!!) felt-tip applicator and the built-in double-ended touch-up pen!

Cutting-Edge Technologies

And, finally, the coolest of the coolest. NIOD (by Deciem) has a new Copper Amino Isolate Serum 1.00% ($60 CAD) available this fall, and it packs a major anti-ageing punch — most brands only bother to put a 0.01 to 0.10% concentration into their products, which doesn’t give you the same effects.

Also from Deciem is a range of drinkables from FOUNTAIN, including this bioavailable hyaluronic acid supplement, The Hyaluronic Molecule ($38 CAD). And, from Estee Lauder, something that’s (also!) altogether new: the New Dimensions Expert Liquid Tape ($70 USD), which creates a thin, flexible layer over the skin that tightens over the course of ten minutes to literally lift and smooth the area!